Guests:
Doug Mackaman, professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi. He's a historian of 19th century French culture. Oliver Nicholson, professor of classics and former director of Medieval studies at the University of Minnesota.

Enron executives prepare for trialThe prosecution in the Enron case prepares to go to trial at the end of month with the help of an important witness, a top accountant. Midmorning looks at the corporate scandal that rocked the financial world.

Guests:
Peter Elkind, senior writer at Fortune magazine and co-author with Bethany McLean of "The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron".

The year in medicineMidmorning takes a look back at some of the big medical stories of 2005, and looks forward to medical advances to come.

Guests:
Dr. Jonathan Ravdin, Nesbitt professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of Minnesota. Susan Wolf, professor of law and medicine at the University of Minnesota and the director of the university's joint degree program in law, health and the life sciences.

Guests:
Anatoly Liberman, professor in the Department of German, Scandanavian and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Etymology for Everyone: Word Origins and How We Know Them. His book has been selected by the Book of the Month Club, History Book Club and Paperback Quality Club.

Uncertainty in IsraelThe deteriorating health of Ariel Sharon throws into doubt the Israeli March elections and disengagement from the Gaza Strip and peace efforts with the Palestinians.

Photo by JIM HOLLANDER/AFP/Getty Images

Guests:
Amos Guiora, former lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces, professor of law and director of the Institute for Global Security at Case Western Reserve University. Edward Walker, former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs. He was ambassador to Egypt from 1994-1997. Currently, he is president of the Middle East Institute.

Religion at the cineplexFrom The Passion of the Christ to the Chronicles of Narnia, Hollywood is becoming more comfortable with Christianity. Midmorning examines the growing popularity of Christian media.

Guests:
Bruce Forbes, professor and chair of the religion department at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa and co-editor of the book "Religion and Popular Culture in America." Paul Williams, assistant professor of religion at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the editor of the Journal of Religion and Film. Chris Riley, director of the writing program at Act One, a nonprofit organization that trains people of faith for careers in film and television.